Our monthly devotion this month is to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
As mothers, I’m sure we can all attest to the miracle of motherly love. It has a burning intensity that emboldens us to fight for our children, and gives us a supernatural strength to go above and beyond for them, despite the constant demands and the sleepless nights. And yet, while it is a powerful force, it simultaneously brings a quality of tenderness and a safety, allowing our children to open up and share their vulnerabilities, or find what comfort they might need.
Having been entrusted to Mary by the Lord, she loves us with her Immaculate Heart as her children, and it is wonderful to be able to turn to her with our problems, knowing that she listens as a mother and will plead with her Son for us.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how she loved her first child (before He bequeathed her with all the disciples He loved) with that same Immaculate Heart, and what we can learn from our Blessed Mother about loving Jesus.
There is not much written in the Gospels about her, but there are a few major events that come to mind: first, the annunciation, the nativity, the flight to Egypt, the presentation at the temple, the finding at the temple, the wedding at Cana, and finally, standing at the foot of the cross. I believe that each of these events can teach us something about how we should aim to love Jesus.
To me, the Annunciation represents obedience to God and acceptance of His will. We should learn, like Mary, to say yes to God, and to do as He says. To do this, it is also important for us to follow her example of trusting in Him.
The birth of our Lord is a sharing of Jesus with the world. Think about it… She was pregnant with him for 9 months. In that time, she had Him all to herself (remember the quiet, intimate shared moments when you were pregnant with your first?). When we receive the Lord in our lives, we can also appreciate this dyadic relationship. It is beautiful. And indeed, we should set aside some good one-on-one time with Jesus. But we cannot keep the Lord all to ourselves, and there are definitely times we are called to share Him with others.
The presentation is Mary’s offering of Jesus to the Father. In Jewish tradition, the first-born son is offered back to God. At the same time, Simeon prophesied that a sword would pierce Mary’s heart. We know that Jesus is offered to God every time we celebrate the Eucharist. As we unite with the priest to offer Jesus’ sacrifice to the Father at each Mass, let us also unite our sorrows and suffering (as well as our hopes and joys, and indeed, our whole lives… “lift up your hearts”, anyone?) to His sacrifice, and join in the redemption of souls!
The finding at the temple is Mary’s search for Jesus. Are there times when you lose sight of Christ in your life? I won’t lie, it happens to me more often than it should. We too, should always be looking for the Lord. And when we do find Him, keep Him in your sight!
There is, of course, Mary’s famous role at the wedding at Cana, which I have previously written about. In summary, we should bring our troubles to the Lord in complete faith that He can handle the situation. We also have Mary’s words as well as her example here, where she says to the servants, “do whatever He tells you”. You can read more of my thoughts on this here.
Finally, Mary stood at the foot of the cross with a handful of loyal followers. She remained loyal to the end (what mother would leave her suffering son?). We too, should strive to be faithful to Jesus to the end, especially when there is suffering, in the places of shame and pain and anguish and isolation. We may not be able to do anything, but remaining with our Lord is already a great act.
What has Mary taught you about how to love our Lord? I’m interested to see your thoughts in the comments!
Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!
Mom Things Through Christ 